Superhero Boot Camp
by iluvaqt
Summary: Third in 'Legs We Stand On' and 'Checkmate' Universe. Members of the Justice League are being tested. "What is this, phantom date night?" Chloe/Bruce, Oliver/Olivia.


**Title:** Superhero Boot Camp  
**By:** iluvaqt  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting:** AU future-fic. Belongs in the "Legs We Stand On" and "Checkmate" universe.  
**Pairing:** Chloe/Bruce, Oliver/Olivia(OFC), John/Shiera hinted  
**Summary:** The Justice League are being tested. "What is this, phantom date night?" A part of the "Legs We Stand On" and "Checkmate" Universe.

**Acknowledgments: **Many thanks to **sxymami0909** for the beta.

* * *

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**Somewhere in space, a thoughtful figure watched the aerial footage of three prone figures...**

Hal sat up and massaged his forehead. It felt like someone had clobbered him with a tire iron but he couldn't feel any bumps. It was close to nightfall. The sky was a burnt orange and the temperature was dropping, it was getting chilly. Easily fixed he thought. He could use the ring to... There was a metallic chinking noise. He stared at his wrist. He jangled it again just to be sure. Yep, they were definitely chains attached to that shackle on his arm. In the shadow of the trees it was hard to make out where he was or who might be watching. With daylight fading, he knew he had to seek out higher ground for safety and a better vantage point.

He tried standing up only to be yanked back down. He'd miss calculated. The cuffs where clamped over the top of his black shirt. He vaguely remembered that he was dressed for a date. It was nice to be asked. Being invited back to the League had come as a great surprise. Considering he'd turned his back on everyone and had spent the better part of a decade playing by his own rules. He'd wondered what J'onn was thinking when he'd extended the invitation.

Giving one side of the chain a good tug, he heard a muffled groan. He frowned. "Hey, wake up."

Getting no more response, Hal tugged on the chain again.

"All right, all right, I'm up."

"AC?" Hal's eyebrow arched high when he heard the other man's voice. "Rise and shine, Fish Man, do you know how we got here?"

AC sat up slowly, he could just make out Hal's silhouette against the horizon. "You tell me? I feel like someone hit me with a cruise ship."

Hal chuckled. "It'll wear off. We need to get moving. We're losing daylight and if we want to figure out wherever it is we are, I say we get to higher ground. We want to be up high come dark. Could be wild animals and I'm not exactly packing survival gear."

"I thought you could use the ring for anything," AC snorted.

Hal shrugged, he had come to rely on that little piece of jewelry a lot over the years. Not that he couldn't survive without it. Just in a pinch, he always knew he had a plan B option if all else failed. He felt naked without it. "Whoever dropped us here, took the ring."

"I say we start moving then. Find out who the bad guys are and give them a beat down."

AC tried to stand up and met with resistance. "What the..."

He yanked hard and there was a shrill shriek. Both of the men covered their ears as a whole bunch of trees behind them splintered and AC was thrown to the ground by a colliding body. The ridge in the distance began to shake and the earth beneath them rumbled.

"Dinah stop!" Hal shouted.

Dinah clamped her mouth shut at the familiar voice and stopped struggling against the man who had a firm grip on her wrists. "Oh, it's you guys." She glared down at AC in the fading light. "What's wrong with you? Who does that?" she said yanking on her end of the chain. "Cover your ears, I'm getting rid of these."

"Dinah you can't. You almost caused an earthquake just now," AC said trying to shake his vision clear. At least his ears drums were still intact. His ears ached and there was a lot of dull ringing but a quick dip and they'd a perfect as fresh coral spawn.

"What?"

AC squinted up at her. Dinah was still straddling his middle. It was very disconcerting and he hoped she didn't move any lower or she'd discover just what kind of an effect she was having on him. "You didn't feel that before?"

"No," she said climbing off him.

AC let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and sat up. "Earth tremors. I'm guessing where ever here is, the plates are unstable and any subsonic vibrations could cause them to displace."

"Thanks so much for the geographical lesson, Professor," Dinah said with a snap.

Hal frowned. "What's got your hot pants in a bunch?"

Dinah folded her arms, feeling the cuffs chaffing. "I had a date tonight."

Hal fought the urge to smirk when he finally took in her appearance. Her hair was pulled up into a chignon, she had lipstick on, it shimmered in the low light and she wore a very snug short dress that was riding up around her pantie-line with all her being tugged around. "I'm getting the feeling the dates were a set-up."

Dinah scowled. "That's the last time I let Zee set me up on a blind date."

AC blushed and looked uncomfortable. "Ah, I had a date too."

"What is this, phantom date night?" Dinah said bristling.

A firecracker exploded nearby and they all jumped. Hal stood up slowly, leaving his arms loose this time. Dinah and AC followed suit.

He followed the source of the sound and found a small crate. There was an envelope attached to the top. "Mission: Unite."

"Cute," AC said with a snort.

Hal ripped it open. "Your mission - you have no choice but to accept - is to survive the jungle and make it to the highest peak. Good luck. And don't let the Canary cry. Unless you want to try digging yourself out of a network of closed mines."

Hal passed the letter to Dinah. "Guess that explains the instability."

...

AC was starting to slow and Dinah was getting worried about him. It was almost pitch black and she could barely see three feet in-front of herself.

"Don't you know how to light a fire with just sticks?" she asked Hal, who was slightly ahead of her.

"I would if could find some dry wood. Everything here is too green or too wet. The forest floor is damp. We won't find anything usable here.

"We have to find more water. AC's on the last bottle and if we're going to be walking all day tomorrow we'll need water too."

Dinah had snapped off the heels to her pumps half a mile ago. There was no sense risking a sprained ankle and her toes were killing her anyway, a lot of good shoes would do if she had blisters the size of marbles on her toes. What she wouldn't give for her combat boots right now.

"Shhh."

"What shhh? I wasn't saying anything," Dinah hissed quietly.

"Just be still," Hal said waving his hand at her.

Dinah bristled again. She was sorely tempted to take off her heel-less shoe and hurl it at his head. He'd set the pace and while she hadn't complained she struggled to keep up in her restrictive dress. She'd already torn up the sides to give her thighs free movement and was also supporting AC who was tiring considering they were rationing the water to one sip every hour. Inside the crate they'd found three bottles of water, a backpack, and a hunting knife.

Hal was wearing the backpack and he had the knife in his belt. They couldn't even radio Watchtower because, like Hal's ring, their comms were also missing. Whoever had left them in the brush, had done a thorough job of making sure they would have no outside help. She stood still. AC was breathing heavily, slightly hunched over. Dinah put a hand to his forehead, he was burning up and his lips were already chapped and blistering. Her heart clenched. They had to get him to water and soon. It was then that she heard it. Very faint but a glorious sound none the less.

AC pitched forward, and Dinah stepped up to him, putting both arms around his chest to steady him. "Hey, Arthur. Come on. Look at me." Dinah saw him trying to lift his head and she bent a little so she could see his eyes. "Can you hear that? You told me you can smell water from a mile away. Listen, and feel it. You're going to be okay." AC's head lulled a little but she could see his eyes brightening with renewed determination.

"That way," he said pointing weakly, pointing to their left.

Hal walked back to them and took AC's other arm. Bracing the Atlantian King between them, the three of them headed in the direction AC had indicated.

.

**In the jungles of South America**

Bruce sat there and stared at them, wondering how long they were going to be out. He kicked at Ollie's foot, the man didn't even stir. Great bad-ass hero he made. He glanced over his shoulder at the other prone figure. He wasn't going to touch that leg, not if his life depended on it. Not only could she bend him like a pretzel, he'd already had Chloe's wrath descend on him once before, he had no desire to give her any fuel to add to the rumors spreading like wildfire over a fictional blossoming romance between the Amazon Princess and Batman.

"Hera, if I find the man who did this, he will beg for mercy," Diana said sitting up with a small groan. She blinked at him. "Bruce?"

Bruce squirmed. He didn't like being unmasked. In fact, he didn't like being around any of their hero-partners-in-justice without the Batman armor. Not to mention, he hated finding himself unprepared in a situation like this. He had nothing but the clothes on his back. Clothes that weren't his own. He didn't even have his footwear. Their abductors had taken his socks and boots. The guy was either a diabolical genius or a sadist. Diana still had her ballet flats. And Oliver despite his state of undress, was wearing hiking boots. Who went around in their underwear with shoes on?

Diana looked at her wrists and then felt them. "Divine Mother, he stole my bracelets." She felt her hip. "And my lasso." Her face became a mask of fury. "I will break him."

Diana stood up and Bruce only had a split second to follow suit before her action would have thrown him face first into the dirt. His action yanked at Oliver's arm and the other man turned his head groggily.

"Owww, I'd like that still attached please," he said with groan. "Too early," he mumbled. "Go back to bed."

"Wake up, Queen," Bruce growled.

Oliver blinked and sat up rubbing his face. "Whoa, what?"

"What do you remember last?" Bruce asked, his voice betraying his impatience.

Oliver held his arm up so that the chain between them wasn't putted tight, the shackle not digging into his wrist. "I went to bed last night, and wow, I'm greeted by your pleasant charming self," he quipped at Bruce while rubbing his face. "Must have tranqed me. Shit, Olivia and the kids."

Bruce tensed. The last thing he remembered was driving back through the underground tunnels to the cave. He blacked out and woke up here. He couldn't even check on Chloe. They'd taken everything; his communicator, his belt, his suit. He wasn't even worried about his identity being exposed right now. If they'd wanted to kill him, he would have been dead already, he was more concerned about the fact that they knew where he'd been headed and whether his family was okay.

"Diana?" Bruce asked.

"I was taking the stairs to my apartment. I left..." she paused and Bruce frowned, was she blushing? "Tom just brought me home from our date."

"Is there anything suspicious you've noticed? Did you feel like you were being followed or have you received any threats, any indication that someone might have figured out your identity?"

"Asking yourself that question, detective?" Oliver asked with a smirk. "I've been off the grid for years. Figures I join the ranks again and this happens. Inside man, is my guess."

Diana glided across to where Oliver still sat on the ground and took his hand. She held her other hand out to Bruce, when he didn't take it, she reached down and just grabbed it. "Men," she said shaking her hand. Tilting her head to the sky, she frowned when they didn't move. "My flight. I'm earth bound," she said in confusion. Dropping their hands, she folded her arms over her body. Then just as suddenly, she was stalking in the direction of a tree and Oliver and Bruce tried to keep up so that they wouldn't give her drag.

Bruce knew what she was up to before she tried, and he was pretty sure she'd be left even more frustrated.

She pounded the tree and scowled in fury while shaking out the pain in her hands.

"What magic is this?" she demanded, whirling on them both. "I'm powerless."

Oliver tried not to smile. "It's not so bad, being human."

Diana shot virtual daggers in his direction and Oliver forced himself to be serious. "Whoever it is, put us here for a reason. You're without your fancy gadgets, Diana is..." he paused seeing her eyes narrowing dangerously in his direction, "she's not feeling like her regular self and well give me a shoe lace, and a knife and I'd say we're good to go."

Bruce found himself smiling. If he took the time to step back and just accept a situation for once, instead of trying to solve a puzzle from multiple angles he would have noticed that they were all unharmed and in plain clothes. The only thing that made sense was someone close to them was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Who else would know where, and when to target them all? Who else would be able to connect the dots but would still leave them alive? Oliver was right, this was some kind of test.

There was a soft thud and they all turned to see a small crate with a parachute drifting over the top of it, land a short distance away. Walking over, Diana snatched up the envelope stuck to the top.

"Mission: Unite. Sorry for the intrusion Princess, but to work as a team, we must be able to lean on one another. We are each others strength. Survive the trek, see civilization again. Fail. Perhaps the jungle isn't such a bad place to live."

"What does he mean fail?"

"How do you know the villain is a he?" Diana said stonily.

Oliver grinned. "Feels like a he. Sorry Diana, but I doubt a lady would have thought up this team. Couldn't be that diabolical." He scratched the back of his head, on second thought, he'd meet a few women in his life time that had been scarily plotting geniuses.

Bruce shot him a warning look but didn't disagree. He and Oliver had long been at odds over the way the League should operate. They also differed greatly in their political stance and methods of preserving justice. Diana on the other hand was the most volatile of all. While she was emissary of her people, and proposed ambassador, she didn't trust men as far as she could toss them and she didn't make any disguise of that fact. Which is why he found it surprising that she was now dating. Yes, she had been a part of man's world for over a decade, and he'd seen her soften in her judgments and mannerisms, but her Amazonian ways were deeply rooted and she still preferred to work solo or with the women in the League over the men. Especially if they were new recruits.

Diana also blamed Oliver for the years that Gabriella and Olivia had lost with him when they could have been a family. She felt that he should have fought harder to learn the truth when Olivia got sick. She thought him weak for not confronting his grief and being there for his son. For abandoning Connor and the League. She didn't think much of his returning now either.

Working together was going to be a test all right. Oliver had survived for a year on a deserted island with nothing but his will to urge him on. He'd spent the last few years with Hal roaming remote jungles and deserts, who knew where else across the globe. This would be a cake walk for him. But Bruce was never a follower. He was too opinionated and hardheaded for that. He didn't take instruction well, unless he felt that his skills could be improved upon for it. But that didn't mean he didn't butt heads with his teacher every step of the way. Good thing Oliver knew him well, had a good sense of humor and wasn't easily offended.

The crate had three empty canteens, a day pack and an axe.

"I say we get to scrounging up some supplies, and looking for water. Our eye in the sky didn't see fit to fill our bottles. We've got to do that on our own." Oliver put the canteens in the backpack and began smashing the crate, separating the boards. He put the pieces into the pack, pulled the draw string closed and put his arms through the shoulder straps. At Bruce's questioning look, he shrugged. "Dried out wood can be hard to find."

"I will not be chained like an animal. My sisters were enslaved before, I will not suffer this." Diana picked up a axe and made to swing with her left hand at the chain joining them.

Oliver grabbed her wrist before she could lose a toe or take off Bruce's head. "We work together. You have to trust me."

Diana looked at him with glistening eyes and thinned her lips in determination. "All right."

He motioned for her to sit next to a large fallen tree. "Hook the chain around that branch." When Bruce stood on the other side of the branch, Oliver let spread his hands at either end of the axe handle and swung down on the chain between them. The chain sparked but didn't split. He hit it three more times in the same place and the chain broke.

Diana rubbed at her wrist and waved Oliver over. "Your turn, marksmen. Do you trust me with your targeting arm?"

Oliver breathed deeply and handed her the axe. He put his chain on the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

Cluck, clang, clunk, crack.

"Condemn it." Diana kicked at the dead tree in frustration. She'd buried the axe head deeply and was trying to lever it out. When it finally came free, she landed on her butt. She gave them both warning looks.

Oliver did his best to keep his face impassive. "I'd never make fun of a woman wielding an axe," he said humbly.

Diana scowled at him, moved the chain to a fresh spot, swinging the axe down again. This time it broke.

Oliver rubbed at his wrist, then twirled the length of chain, before he hit out at a tree nearby. Small egg-shaped fruit hailed around them. "I'd say we're somewhere in South America. Maybe Southern Brazil or Northern Argentina, since these things are in abundance. He bit one fruit in half and dug out the flesh with his thumb. He licked his lips and offered Diana the other half. She took it tentatively, eying him cautiously.

"It looks like fruit we have back home," she said inspecting it closely. Peeling back the skin, she tasted it, her eyes closing as she savored the fruit. "Sweet with a grainy texture."

"Feijoa, guava-like fruit. Fill the pack..." Bruce said looking at all the fruit at their feet.

"Why?" Oliver asked with a shrug. "Eat what you want now, it grows all over this place. No point weighing ourselves down." He bent and tossed Bruce several of the fallen fruit pieces. "Enjoy."

They sat on the fallen tree and eat a fruity breakfast until they were all satisfied.

Oliver stripped off his boots and offered them to Bruce.

Bruce waved them away. "Then you'll be barefoot."

"I've been roughing it longer than you've been used too. Soles are thick as bricks away. Take 'em."

While Bruce had a shirt and dress pants, he had nothing but the boxer shorts he went to bed in. Come night fall, it was going to get really chilly. Oliver glanced at Diana. She was in a very smart pant suit and jacket. He wouldn't ask, but if she had a shirt underneath, he wouldn't mind using it later on. She was a womanly shape, but she was also as broad shouldered and tall as a man. Her wrists were smaller than his but he could leave the cuffs open.

"Next hurdle is finding water. While it's unlikely we'll suffer from dehydration with all these fruit trees around, we'll need to find water if we hope to trek out of here." He'd eaten only three of the little egg-shaped things. He'd never been much of a fruit person.

Oliver nodded. "Best we head for that ridge, see if we can get a lay of the land from up there."

Bruce agreed and stood, dusting his hands off. He pulled on the boots and laced them tightly. It was close to midday. They'd been out for awhile. Estimating distance, he figured if they walked all afternoon at a brisk pace, they'd reach the ridge by nightfall.

...

Diana was putting sticks and kindling together, while Oliver was splintering the boards into smaller pieces to build a fire. Bruce stood at the edge of the precipice, gazing out at the horizon searching for any signs of life. There was nothing but bushy treetops as far as the eye could see.

"Which way do we head? Have you been in this part of South America before?" Bruce asked hunching down next to the circle of stones Diana had made, while looking over at his blond haired friend.

Oliver looked over his shoulder at the dipping sun. "We head east, we'll hit the coast and we can work our way along till we find a town. We have a better chance that way than just trekking north and hoping to find a village."

Bruce glanced at Oliver's shirtless body. Why were they all covered but him. They didn't even have shelter. "Diana do you have a long shirt under there?"

Diana stopped assembling her sticks and looked at him suspiciously before realizing where he was looking. She glanced at Oliver who was busying himself keeping warm by splitting wood. She shrugged out of her jacket quickly, and gave Bruce a stare. Bruce turned to give her privacy. She unbuttoned her shirt and put her jacket back on over her sensible sports bra. "Here," she said stretching out her arm to offer the shirt to Oliver.

Oliver smiled at her. "Never thought I'd be happy to see a woman sporting puffy sleeves," he teased. It'd be a nice loose fit around his arms instead of the super-snug picture he'd imagined it might be.

"The woman in the boutique said it was very flattering for my arms."

Oliver snorted. "She was afraid of your muscles, Diana. You sure she wasn't shaking in her nine-inch heels when she charged your credit card?"

Diana laughed. "Now that you mentioned it, she did seem a bit anxious to be rid of me."

"Didn't think you were the type that needed help shopping." Bruce added thoughtfully.

Diana shook her head. "Ella suggested I try to dress a little more appropriately for a date. She said my wardrobe was a bit lacking in femininity. I thought maybe she was right. Leaving my sisters and integrating into man's world I think I did overcompensate a little much." She thought of the one dress verses the dozen power suits and combat outfits that resided in her closet. "I must take Olivia up on her offer to take me shopping without the children. Girl's afternoon."

Oliver nodded in approval. "You should make a day of it. Olivia hardly ever takes time for herself. Let me know when you'd like to go, and I'll make sure Liv's got the day free."

Diana smiled widely. "I know I haven't been very supportive of your relationship since your return, but the effort you've put into making Olivia happy is very encouraging."

Oliver buttoned up the shirt and crouched down next to Diana. "And I never said thank you for being there for her during Gabriella's birth. I would have been there if I'd known. You have to know that."

Diana dipped her head and took in a breath. "Yes, well the past is done."

Knowing that conversation was at an end, Oliver put part of his chain against the circle of rocks. He struck the back of the axe head down on the metal crating a short burst of sparks. At first nothing happened, but he bent close and blew into the small cavern of sticks and dry grass Diana had put together. It started smoking. He sat back. "And we have fire."

...

Bruce was the first to wake. The fire was dying out and he threw a few more sticks on it and spied movement in the bush. He picked up the axe and waited silently for the target to move again. Considering the axe was a lot heavier and bulkier than his Batarang he wasn't sure how true his aim would be but there was no harm in trying.

The brush twitched and he hurled the axe. There was a pitiful high pitched whine and then

just sounds of thrashing. Bruce got to his feet and quickly found the fallen prey. It was a young alpaca. Probably an adolescent. He hummed softly, his arms encircling it's neck. He ended its suffering quickly. They'd gone all day yesterday on nothing but fruit. Having meat would give them more energy. They'd cook it all and eat it over the course of the day. With no salt to preserve it, they couldn't make it last any longer. The thick coat would do well to cut out the night chill too.

He was done skinning the animal, and was in the process of carving the meat when Oliver joined him.

"Spotted a river about half a mile away. Diana's gone to fill the canteens and collect more fruit. There's nothing but dry scrub up here."

"And what are you doing?" Bruce asked raising an eyebrow, his arms half buried in the carcass while his fingers felt stiff and disgustingly gooey.

Oliver held up his homemade bow. "I thought I was going hunting. You beat me to it. Technique's a little barbaric but it works," he said with a nod at the bloodied axe.

"Is that my shoe lace?"

Oliver laughed. "I split your other one in half. Your boots stay on and I'm armed and ready. Everyone wins."

Bruce snorted and handed him a chunk of meat. "Since I bought the food, you can cook it. Start roasting, Robin."

...

It was another day and a half before they stumbled onto a small village. The nearest city, Campo Grande was only a three-hour jeep ride away. The village people were friendly and only too willing to help them. Bruce suspected that half of the male youth were hopelessly taken by Diana. Even with her hair slightly frizzed, her face streaked with dust and grime, she was a rare beauty with her vibrant blue eyes, perfect cheekbones and midnight black hair. She was tall too. A good foot taller than all the woman in the village. To the people there she must have appeared to be a goddess. Bruce chuckled to himself, if only they knew.

Bruce called Chloe once they reached the city, she had money wired and arranged for the jet to pick them up. She relayed the GPS coordinates and it would be a bit of squeeze but within an hour or two, depending on how quickly they could reach the landing site, they'd be State side and enjoying hot showers, clean clothes and warm meals.

.

**Wayne Manor, Gotham City**

Bruce stared in the mirror at the three days worth of beard on his chin. He felt her slender arms fold over his chest and he closed his hand around one of her wrists. He stared at the reflection of her wedding band and engagement ring on her finger and smiled to himself.

"So how was the Brazilian jungle?"

Bruce turned and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Why do I get the feeling you knew where I was this whole time?"

Chloe blushed under his intense gaze. "I might have heard something on the grapevine..." she said softly, leaning into him and hugging his waist, to reassure him that she wasn't conspiring against him.

Bruce dropped the razor from his other hand into the sink behind him and returned her embrace. "Woman, you do realize that I had to put up with Queen's endless jokes and Diana's silent brooding for almost three days? If you know who orchestrated our forced survivor role-play tell me now, and I might go easy on him."

Chloe's eyes widened. "What makes you think it was a him?"

Bruce tightened his arms and narrowed his eyes at her in warning. "Chloe?"

Chloe swallowed. "Okay so the Outsiders thought that maybe you guys needed a little help working together so..."

"Chloe!" he said impatiently, heaving a heavy sigh.

She cringed. "I might have been the one on monitor duty," she finished so softly it was barely a whisper.

Bruce closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

"You guys are the leaders, the public face for justice but often you can't even work together harmoniously. We thought you could do with a little grassroots intervention."

Bruce pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "So I take it that Olivia knew about this too?"

Chloe smiled. "The entire operation was her brainchild. Oh and J'onn."

Bruce snorted. "Why was J'onn spared?"

Chloe grinned up at him cheekily and kissed his chin. "Oh he wasn't. Trust me. Olivia was a little more devious with that one. She had to block him out for weeks. If you want to see how he's fairing, it's on Comm 5 in the cave."

Bruce pushed his hands up under her sweater feeling the warm bare skin underneath. "System records all incoming data. I'll watch it later. I've missed you."

Chloe stood on her toes and rubbed her nose to his. "I've missed you too, my ruggedly handsome hero."

Bruce hooked his hands behind her knees and lifted her. Chloe squealed happily and peppered kisses over his eyes, his nose and the tops of his cheeks that weren't covered in bristles.

.

**Elsewhere**

Bart tossed another banana skin over his shoulder and stared out at the endless water. He was chained between cranky pants and a flightless Thanagarian. Neither of which where talking to him right now.

If he'd had more to eat, he'd happily carry them both and sped right off this rock but being knocked out and finding a meager ten banana trees, two papaya trees and a crate with nothing but a pile of rope, a shovel, a bucket and a plastic sheet inside, they were stranded.

John Stewart was brooding and hadn't said much more than, "Don't eat all the food. Ration."

Shiera had said nothing at all. Content to just sit cross-legged in the sand and stare out at the ocean.

"Am I the only one that realizes nobody is going to come and get us off this island?" Bart yelled aloud.

John frowned at him. "Your point?"

"I don't know. You were a marine. Don't you know how to build a raft or something?"

"And go where? We don't know where we are. There are no other land masses within sight, and unless we drift into a shipping lane, we could run out of food or die of dehydration before anyone found us. Or haven't you noticed there isn't any fresh water."

"I know how to make some..." Bart started sheepishly.

Shiera gave him a shrewd look. "You can make water?"

"I know how, not that I can!" Bart scratched the back of his head. It sounded so much cooler when his lab partner had explained it. "Evaporation. Not to mention if we dig in land the sand will filter out the impurities and salt from the water.

John stood and handed him the shovel. "Have at it, Flash. It'd be nice to see you put all that energy to good use."

Bart sighed. He was going to have serious words with whoever thought this team would be a good idea. This was his own brand of hell right here. Powerless, trapped between two ex-lovers in denial over the fact they were still in-love with each other. The world couldn't be any more cruel.

Just then, as the sky turned a purple-pink color, a fat drop of rain fell on his head. He looked up and it was followed by another.

"The plastic," he cried, just moments before the heavens opened and bucketed down on them.

"We find out who's behind this, and we torture them very slowly," Shiera said quietly, subtly curling closer to Bart for warmth.

Bart shivered. For a petite woman she could be remarkably frightening. He sat a little straighter and tightened his grip on his knees. Nobody was going to accuse him of having wondering hands.

.

**Eastern China**

Hal had fallen from a tree, he'd tried to use as a look out and even with the make shift splint they'd fashioned, it was almost impossible for him to move. They'd filled the bottles at the waterfall but with no idea of where they were or how far from the nearest help. With his strength returned, AC had broken their shackles, leaving them able to move unrestrained.

Dinah and AC had been forced to leave Hal at the foot of the mountain and continue on without him.

Hal felt completely useless and tried to suppress the unfounded fear that they'd abandon him there or that they might lose him to the jungle once they were out of ear shot. He had to trust AC's keen sense of direction. He seemed in tune with the earth. Not only could he communicate telepathically with sea creatures and could smell and control water. Just touching the earth, he could figure out where they were in the world based on the map of earth's oceans he had in his head. He could sense the plates of water deep under ground that were connected to the sea, lakes, rivers and streams around the globe. They were deep in the Chinese forests, miles from the coast, but probably not too far from some form civilization.

They'd climbed up a steep rock face, of what might have been an old quarry. It was late afternoon when they reached the peak.

Dinah fell to her knees and braced herself on her hands. Every muscle in her body burned and her fingers were dusty grazed with small cuts and blisters. She's sipped water sparingly understanding that Arthur would need a lot more to survive than her.

She felt his warm hand on her shoulder. AC too warm was never a good thing. He usually ran cool. Like a lake on a hot summer day.

Tilting her head up to look at him she saw his cheeks were ruddy under the grim on his face, his lips were cracked and peeling but there was grim determination in his expression. A white flag flapped in the wind a short distance away and there was another crate. It was a lot smaller than the last.

AC stalked over to it, his steps heavy and lacked the fluid grace that usually punctuated his every moment.

He cracked open the lid. Inside were three comm-links and another note.

"Congratulations. Trust is learned and earned. Sometimes we don't have all the answers, sometimes we have to leave our fate in the hands of our team mates. Only together will we succeed. You have completed your Mission - Team Unite."

He walked back over and gave Dinah a communicator. "Shall we collect Hal now or get reinforcements first?"

Dinah smirked. "Let him sweat a bit for being a such a slave driver before. Besides, I'm not doing anymore walking till I get my feet in my boots again."

.

**The Queen Residence, Star City**

Oliver held his wife and rubbed his rough bearded cheek against her neck. Olivia laughed and pulled at his hair to get him to stop.

"All right, all right, I promise never to use my brain power for evil again!"

Oliver glared at her once more before letting his face spread into a playful grin. He suspected she had been involved, their house was fitted with three levels of security, not to mention that he'd been pulled from his bed without even stirring. Despite him being only half aware of his wife's constant movements at night attending to their children, his sense for danger had never dimmed. And nobody could have been able to move him from his bed without him waking. Either she'd tranquilized him herself or she'd let someone into their bedroom to do it. After that it would have been easy enough for someone at Watchtower beam him to the middle of nowhere. Her guilty expression as he strode in the front door was all the confirmation he needed.

"I've got to say though, seeing Diana shirtless and watching Bruce turn cave man was kind of fun."

Olivia slapped his arm and whirled away from him for that comment and Oliver hurried after her. He spun her and pinned her to the wall. "You deserve that and more for throwing me in the jungle with those two."

The indignant fight left her posture and Olivia sighed. "The guys made a good point, they were going to do something whether or not I helped. At least I made sure there were safety contingencies and..."

He could see she wasn't on the same wave length as him and he leaned down to silence her with a his mouth. When he pulled back he looked at her dazed, hooded eyes with satisfaction. "I think I want to share a shower with my wife, if you're done scheming and conspiring against me," he said rubbing his nose with hers.

Olivia sucked in a shaky breath. His leg was between hers and he'd pushed up firmly against her heated core, anchoring her between his body and the wall. She blinked, could she move? Did she even have legs? Her whole body tingled as he thumbed her belly with light circles under her shirt. Good thing Fynn was asleep and Gabriella was visiting with Connor.

"I don't think I have toes?" she whispered softly against his mouth, catching his bottom lip between her teeth, biting down lightly. "Do you think you could help me out, my Irish rogue?"

Oliver cupped her bottom and lifted her with ease. Olivia locked her ankles behind him and settled over his hips. She buried her fingers in his hair and tilted his head back to kiss him deeply. "Missed you."

Olivia giggled. "It's barely been three days?"

"Considering I just got let back into Valhalla. Three days is way too long." He tossed her down onto the bed and preceded to strip them both of their clothes.

The trip to the shower was full of tangled limbs, shrieking laughter and more frantic stolen kisses. By the time they remembered why they were on the tiled floor in their large shower stall, Olivia had completely lost track of the time. Standing up on unsteady legs, she turned on the water. She was just about the reach for the soap when she heard the phone ringing. With a smile at her husband who was still sitting prone on the floor, she stepped over him. Giggling while he tried to make a grab for her ankle. She pushed her arms into her toweling robe and secured the belt with a single knot around her waist, before answering the phone.

"Queen residence."

"Wanna open the door today? Or are we going to roast out here?"

Olivia jumped and fled the bedroom for the security access panel in the corridor. She buzzed Connor in and a few minutes later she meet her adopted son and her young daughter downstairs in the foyer.

"Sorry. I completely forgot that I hadn't given you the main gate key yet. Sometimes I feel like I've got so much on my mind, it's gone on the fritz."

Connor raised an eyebrow at her appearance and then put his hands over Gabriella's ears. "I don't want to know why your hair is wet and you're in a bathrobe at four in the afternoon do I?"

Olivia blushed and chewed her lip nervously. She waved a hand in the direction of the stairs. "Your dad's back."

Connor nodded once. "Yep, don't wanna know." He lifted his hands from Gabriella's ears and she peered up at him questioningly.

"Why don't you want to know Daddy is home?"

Connor scratched the back of his head and narrowed his eyes at Olivia teasingly. "You sure she doesn't have a little of Supes in her?"

"What?" came the thunderous roar from upstairs.

Connor laughed. "Forget I said that. The old man's got bionic hearing, that's probably where she gets it from."

"Daddy," came the happy squeal from their daughter at the sound of her father's voice.

Gabriella scrambled up the stairs, clambering them like a chimp in her haste to reach him. She hurled herself at him and Oliver scooped her up, hugging her tightly.

"Now this was the kind of homecoming I was expecting," he said as Gabriella pulled back to kiss him before she pulled a face.

"Yucky, scratchy," she said tentatively touching his scruff with her hand before yanking it back as though it was the most offensive feeling in the world.

Olivia stifled a snicker and Connor smirked. Oliver growled and rubbed his chin into his daughter's tummy while she laughed riotously and begged him to stop.

"Are you glad Daddy's home?" he asked his eyes dancing with humor at her blossoming tears stained cheeks and bright eyes.

Gabriella nodded vigorously, her lips still twitching from smiling so hard. "Yes Daddy."

"Do you still think my beard is yucky?"

She nodded again before she realized he meant to tickle her again for her unacceptable answer. "No Daddy!" she yelled quickly, smiling widely but with large apprehensive eyes.

Oliver kissed her forehead and set her down, reaching out for Olivia's hand. "You two entertain yourselves for a bit. Order in or whatever, me and your mother have unfinished business."

Connor coughed uncomfortably and tried to avoid looking at Olivia who he knew must be turning three different shades of red. "Hey, Ella. Let's go see what Mom made for dinner huh?"

Ella pouted. "But I want to stay with Daddy. He just got back."

"Trust me kiddo. You don't want to hang around with Mom and Dad right now okay. It's Grown Up time. When your older, you'll thank me."

Spinning her into their bedroom, Oliver shut the door behind himself and locked it. "Now where were we? Oh that's right. I was about to attack this." He walked her back to the edge of the bed and when she sat down on the edge, he leaned over her till she was flat on her back. Catching her ankle, he brought it to his mouth, sinking his teeth lightly into the soft flesh. "Ah huh, and working my way up."

As mortified as she was that Connor had known exactly what Oliver had planned, she was fast beginning to forget the closer Oliver's wicked lips moved toward his destination and when his tongue lavished his prize, she was a moaning, aching, blissful and putty in his hands. Oliver and his insatiable urges the only thing on her mind.

.

**Elsewhere**

Superman, Captain Atom and Zatanna sat chained together each sporting interesting irremovable boxing gloves. Zatanna had tried magic but as soon as she'd opened her mouth to speak. Not a peep came out.

Clark found himself without flight, strength or any of his abilities. Considering he didn't feel ill he assumed that his gloves must be lined with blue Kryptonite.

And Atom was also land locked and powerless.

When a crate hit the ground a short distance away the realized what was happening and that they had no choice but to work together. It was a strange combination team, but Clark understood why they may have been lumped together.

While he respected Zatanna, he kept his distance from her. Lois, while she was appeared unaffected, confident in her sexuality and feminine appeal and she had no reason to doubt his fidelity, always felt threatened by Zatanna. So out of consideration for her, Clark limited his dealings with the Mistress of Magic. As for Atom. Well, the guy was a patriot to the core. And even after he realized the error of taking orders blindly from Luthor while he was in power, Atom was still a little too rigid for Clark's comfort. He always feared that if given the order, he'd take him in no question. And General Lane made no secret of wanting Superman gone permanently.

It appeared that someone had noticed all these things and was forcing them to put aside their differences.

It was going to be an interesting adventure. And when he got home, he was going to have a serious talk to J'onn about how he used his perceptive abilities.

**FIN**


End file.
